Asian shares staged a rare rally on Friday as Wall Street eked out gains, bonds rallied and oil boasted its biggest bounce on record, though the panicked rush into U.S. dollars suggested the crisis was far from done.
U.S crude oil prices edged higher on Friday, extending gains after a 24% jump the previous day, buoyed by hints from U.S. President Donald Trump he may intervene in the price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia at an "appropriate time."
Big-box retailer Walmart Inc said on Thursday it would hire more than 150,000 hourly workers in the United States, citing a jump in shoppers due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Detroit Three automakers will shut down their U.S. plants to stop the spread of coronavirus, bowing to pressure from the union representing about 150,000 hourly workers at those facilities, industry officials said.
German fashion house Hugo Boss on Wednesday scrapped the outlook it gave for 2020 results less than two weeks ago and took action to protect its cash balance, suspending store renovations and new openings and limiting the inflow of stock.
Oil prices surged as much as nearly 20% on Thursday, bouncing back from days of heavy losses in a relief rally that may yet be short-lived, analysts warned, but which was stoked by economic stimulus efforts to ward off a global coronavirus recession.
The dollar surged, bonds plunged and global markets struggled to find their footing on Thursday as the European Central Bank's latest promise of stimulus provided only brief solace while the world struggles to contain the coronavirus pandemic.
Another day of massive swings across asset prices was marked by scant liquidity as investors dashed for cash while systematic strategies triggered automated selling amid rising volatility, market participants said.
Brazil has upheld proposals by Boeing Co to buy the jetmaking arm of Embraer , but plunging markets have raised urgent questions over the fate of the $4.2 billion deal as aviation reels from the coronavirus crisis.
Airline industry turmoil deepened on Thursday as Qantas Airways Ltd told most of its 30,000 employees to take leave and India prepared a rescue package of up to $1.6 billion to aid carriers battered by coronavirus, government sources said.
Harley-Davidson Inc faces a battle with one of its investors after Impala Asset Management said on Wednesday it will try to install two directors at America's oldest and best-known motorcycle maker.
Qantas Airways Ltd said on Thursday it will halt all international flights from late March until at least the end of May and is putting two-thirds of its workforce on leave after Australia told citizens not to travel overseas due to the coronavirus.
General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co said on Wednesday they were in talks with White House officials about how they could support production of medical equipment like ventilators that may be needed to combat the coronavirus outbreak.
Nissan Motor Co said Wednesday it will temporarily suspend production at its U.S. manufacturing to boost containment efforts around the COVID-19 coronavirus.
Tesla Inc cannot continue to operate its main U.S. vehicle plant normally as its San Francisco Bay Area home began a three-week lockdown on Tuesday to slow the spread of coronavirus, a county sheriff's office spokesman said.